Mueller Provides Substantial Evidence of Obstruction of Justice

Washington. D.C. – The Mueller report provides substantial evidence that President Trump violated felony criminal statutes regarding Obstruction of Justice – and the redactions seem to hide even more evidence of Obstruction.

Mueller believed that his report showed very substantial evidence of Obstruction of Justice. Mueller declined to opine on whether this evidence established Obstruction of Justice beyond a reasonable doubt. Instead he left it to others to determine whether the evidence of Obstruction of Justice justified further legal proceedings.

For ordinary citizens, the entity determining whether the evidence is enough to go forward with a criminal trial is determined by the grand jury and the Justice Department. However, the Department of Justice policies preclude indicting a sitting President. Accordingly, only the House of Representatives can decide that the evidence is sufficient to warrant a trial – and that would be an impeachment trial before the United States Senate. Since it is the House of Representatives that must determine whether legal action should be taken against the President for Obstruction of Justice, the House of Representatives must have all the evidence produced by the Mueller investigation.

The material produced by Mueller contains classified and sensitive information. Congress has the highest security clearance and is often presented classified information in special rooms designed for that purpose.

The Articles of Impeachment which I filed in July of 2017, cosponsored by Congressman Al Green (D-TX), were based exclusively on evidence of Obstruction of Justice. The portions of the Mueller report released today buttress that conclusion. See my op-ed for the Huffington Post showing that evidence in the public record by July 2017 justified the conclusion that there is sufficient evidence of Obstruction of Justice by President Trump [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-case-for-impeaching-donald-j-trump_b_59a5e4a3e4b08299d89d0a9b]. The legal case against President Trump was strong in July of 2017. It is much stronger today.

However, impeachment is both a legal and a political process. The impeachment and removal of President Trump will require at least some Republican support, and that will be forthcoming only if there is a substantial change in public opinion. The most important thing is to present all the facts to the American people, just as the presentation of the facts to the American people led to the resignation and removal of Richard Nixon.